| 1 | A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, [Even] to such as are pure in heart. |
| 2 | But as for me, my feet were almost gone; My steps had well nigh slipped. |
| 3 | For I was envious at the arrogant, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. |
| 4 | For there are no pangs in their death; But their strength is firm. |
| 5 | They are not in trouble as [other] men; Neither are they plagued like [other] men. |
| 6 | Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment. |
| 7 | Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish. |
| 8 | They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily. |
| 9 | They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth. |
| 10 | Therefore his people return hither: And waters of a full [cup] are drained by them. |
| 11 | And they say, How doth God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High? |
| 12 | Behold, these are the wicked; And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches. |
| 13 | Surely in vain have I cleansed my heart, And washed my hands in innocency; |
| 14 | For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning. |
| 15 | If I had said, I will speak thus; Behold, I had dealt treacherously with the generation of thy children. |
| 16 | When I thought how I might know this, It was too painful for me; |
| 17 | Until I went into the sanctuary of God, And considered their latter end. |
| 18 | Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction. |
| 19 | How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. |
| 20 | As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image. |
| 21 | For my soul was grieved, And I was pricked in my heart: |
| 22 | So brutish was I, and ignorant; I was [as] a beast before thee. |
| 23 | Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden my right hand. |
| 24 | Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. |
| 25 | Whom have I in heaven [but thee]? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. |
| 26 | My flesh and my heart faileth; [But] God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. |
| 27 | For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: Thou hast destroyed all them that play the harlot, [departing] from thee. |
| 28 | But it is good for me to draw near unto God: I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge, That I may tell of all thy works. |